Britannia agrees to part-fund fire station survey

BRITANNIA Hotels has opened the door to working with Manchester City Council on the redevelopment of the derelict London Road Fire Station after agreeing to share the cost of a survey of the building.

In September the council used the threat of a compulsory purchase order (CPO) to encourage Hale-based Britannia to agree to a legally binding agreement to implement an existing planning consent for a 227-bed hotel, and share the cost of a structural survey.

Last month the council said it would pursue a CPO after failing to receive a “satisfactory response” from Britannia, but said it was still open to working with the hotel group.

That now appears to be more likely given Britannia’s willingness to contribute to a survey, although there was no word on the legal agreement which finance director Robert Ferrari has previously described as a “cleverly drafted one-sided forced sale contract and not an implementation/development agreement at all”.

In its latest statement Britannia said: “Manchester Council wish to carry out a structural survey on the fire station. To assist this, Britannia is prepared to bear half the cost of a joint survey, thus saving the ratepayers a substantial amount of money.

“This will satisfy Manchester’s existing requirements and further Britannia’s planning application.”

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